Caroline Joan S. Picart (3L, joint J.D. and M.A. in Women’s Studies Candidate; Tybel Spivack Teaching Fellow) has a contracted and forthcoming book: Critical Race Theory and copyright in American Dance (Palgrave-Macmillan, forthcoming, 2013). She has also contracted three forthcoming law journal articles, two in an international London-based journal:

Her conference paper, “Monstrosity, Serial Killing, the criminal blackman and the Lesbian Female Serial Killer: Fact and Fiction in Depictions of Wayne Williams and Aileen Wuornos,” was accepted and presented March 21 at the Association for the Study of Law, Culture and the Humanities, University of London, England.

LIC Notes: Congressional Rules: CRS Primers

Do you ever teach your students or write about the functions of Congress? Several recent Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports discuss the workings of Congress and some changes to procedures that are being implemented. You will occasionally find useful diagrams in the CRS reports, such as those found in .

If you are interested in other functions not discussed above, the Law Librarian’s Society of Washington D.C. maintains a list of “Selected Congressional Research Service Reports on Congress and Its Procedures” at http://www.llsdc.org/crs-congress/.

Important registration information from Student Affairs

The course schedules for the upcoming academic year (summer 2013, fall 2013, and spring 2014) have been released and are posted on the Student Affairs website: http://www.law.ufl.edu/student-affairs/current-students/course-schedules. You should be aware of information concerning distance education courses prior to registering for classes. Based upon ABA Standard 306(d), governing distance education in U.S. Law Schools, no student may obtain more than four credit hours of distance education(online/asynchronous) courses in the same term, and no student may receive more than a total of 12 credit hours of academic credit for distance education(online/asynchronous) courses to count toward the J.D. degree. Furthermore, since students are permitted, with prior approval, to complete up to six credit hours of graduate level courses to count toward law school graduation requirements, and since some students complete distance education courses through the Graduate School, the four credit hours and 12 credit hours limitations apply to these courses, as well. Thus, if a student is registered for an online graduate level course, this reduces the number of hours permitted for other distance education(online/asynchronous) courses either through the Graduate School and/or through the law school.

This information is particularly important for the Summer 2013 term, as there are currently 6 asynchronous (distance education) courses on the law school’s summer schedule of courses. Out of these six courses, one is a one credit hour course and the other courses are two credit hours. Therefore, you will only be able to register for up to two of these asynchronous courses during the summer term. Please review the schedule of courses carefully and plan your schedules accordingly. As you register for classes, you will be reminded of this requirement in ISIS when/if you register for any law distance education(asynchronous/online) course. If you attempt to register for a distance education(asynchronous/online) course, the following message will pop up to remind you of this rule:

“Per ABA Standard 306D, a law student may not register for more than four credits of asynchronous online courses in one term.”

If it is determined that you have registered for more than four credits of asynchronous (distance education/online) courses in any term (e.g., this summer), you will be notified to drop a course or courses. If this is not done, you will then be administratively dropped from the course or courses until you are in compliance with the ABA Standard 306(d).

If there should be any questions or concerns about any of this information, please feel free to contact Assistant Dean of Students Kari Mattox at mattoxk@law.ufl.edu, or stop by the Office of Student Affairs.

2013 Class Gift Legacy

The University of Florida Levin College of Law would not be what it is today without support from alumni. As you prepare to join the distinguished Gator Nation alumni network, now is your chance to make a difference and leave a legacy for future generations of students. Consider making a gift, at any amount, in support of your college. UF Law appreciates your support, as the 2013 Class Gift campaign aims to achieve 100 percent participation from all graduating 3Ls.

It was 1994 when a newly published author paced the floors of his local bookstore in South Florida. He grabbed a James Grippando novel from the shelf and walked toward the counter with the thriller, titled The Pardon.

“That’s my book, you know,” he told the sales clerk as he laid it on the counter.

“Yes, it is once you’ve paid for it,” she responded with a puzzled expression.

He held back the urge to whip out his license to prove his identity.

“Best $23 I’ve ever spent,” he said as he gave her the cash.

She pointed at the book, “James Gri…Grippa…Grippa-na-nando. Never heard of him. Any good?”

“No,” he said, “just lucky.”

Ten years and 20 books earlier, Grippando (JD 82) was a trial lawyer who couldn’t shake his childhood dream of becoming a writer. Today, he’s a New York Times bestselling author. His luck has yet to run out.

The double-Gator was once the editor of Florida Law Review, the general chairman of Gator Growl and a standout student.

Fresh out of law school, Grippando served a judicial clerkship immersed in death penalty cases on the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. It was from this experience he drew inspiration for The Pardon.

“I was not one of those lawyers who started writing because I hated the practice of law,” Grippando wrote in an email. “I enjoy it. But it was hard to find a way to do both law and writing at a high level.”

During the height of his legal career, TV shows like “Law & Order” and writers like John Grisham started to become popular. He knew he could write like that, too, he said.

Grippando was right. His latest novel, Blood Money, came out in January, capturing the attention of readers with its stark similarity to the Casey Anthony trial. Grippando’s books are known for drawing from current real-life issues to create gripping realistic fiction.

Grippando said UF Law set him up for success in every way, from his first job as a clerk to his 12 years as a trial lawyer. Although he stepped away from the legal field for a time, he now serves as counsel at Boies Schiller & Flexner thanks to telecommuting.

Lawyer-bashers might say that the connection between being a lawyer and a fiction writer is simple, “either way, you’re making things up,” he said.

“The less cynical view is that both are story tellers,” he said. “A trial lawyer, like a novelist, needs to make his client (the protagonist) sympathetic and the adversary (the antagonist) dislikable; needs to know which facts are important to get into evidence (editing); can’t make the story overly complicated (plotting); and needs to know his judge or jury (the audience).”

For this reason, he’s not surprised so many lawyers transition easily into writing. But Grippando’s knack for storytelling wasn’t the only contribution to his success. His mother was also a published writer.

“Somehow she managed to raise five kids, work, and take courses on the side to get a doctorate degree in education,” Grippando said of his mother. “Her dissertation was later published and became one of the top textbooks in the country for nursing students. More than a quarter-century later it was still going strong in its sixth edition. I hope I can have a run like that.”

]]>http://www.law.ufl.edu/flalaw/2013/04/uf-law-grad-becomes-new-york-times-bestselling-author/feed/0UF Law grad turns tragedy into triumph as a Paralympianhttp://www.law.ufl.edu/flalaw/2012/09/uf-law-grad-turns-tragedy-into-triumph-as-a-paralympian/
http://www.law.ufl.edu/flalaw/2012/09/uf-law-grad-turns-tragedy-into-triumph-as-a-paralympian/#commentsMon, 10 Sep 2012 14:45:25 +0000http://www.law.ufl.edu/flalaw/?p=5958On the afternoon of June 14, 1993, life as Bradley Johnson (JD 97) knew it changed forever.

Driving to his LSAT in Gainesville, Johnson realized that his tires needed to be replaced, but he shrugged it off. This was the most important exam he’d ever take, and the tires could wait until afterward.

But on his way home to Tampa after the test, Johnson’s car hydroplaned into a guardrail. His left leg was instantly severed and his right leg was damaged beyond repair.

“I put the exam before my own safety,” he said. “I thought I was invincible.”

As Johnson sat in his car losing massive amounts of blood, a truck driver named Don called for help. Brad remained calm and gave Don his parents’, a family friend’s and his roommate’s contact numbers.

In the next few precious moments, Johnson said a 14-year-old girl with an “angelic voice” grasped his hand and asked him if he wanted to pray with her. Together, they recited the Lord’s Prayer.

Not long after, he found himself lying in a hospital bed, contemplating what the future would be like.

“I had accepted my new physical state,” he concluded.

“Accepted” might be an understatement. Johnson is now a sole practitioner in Fort Lauderdale, and he competes at the elite level of international athletics in the Paralympic Games. Last week, he competed in his third Paralympics. Johnson’s three-man sailing team raced in London where they had qualified for the United States. Weymouth Bay and Portland Harbour on the English Channel were the venues for 80 athletes in the Paralympic sailing events.

Johnson competed in the 2000 Paralympics in sitting volleyball. The game has the same rules as regular volleyball but the net is lowered, he said.

That same year Johnson was introduced to sailing. Paralympic sailing differs from Olympic sailing in that the Sonar (a 26-foot keelboat) that he crews has three crewmembers instead of four.

Johnson and his sailing team won the bronze medal in Greece in 2004. His teams won both events in the U.S. qualifiers, but he chose to compete in sailing that year.

“Sailing offers a different challenge,” he said. “It’s intellectual as well as physical.”

Johnson trains for a minimum of four hours a day, three to four times a week in addition to the five to six times a week he exercises at the gym.

The International Paralympic Committee says the Paralympic movement evolved in Britain after World War II to give war-veteran athletes and others injured in the conflict a forum to compete internationally. The Paralympic Games are for people with any disability, and are held a few weeks after the Olympics in the same city.

Following his 1993 accident, Johnson spent six weeks in the hospital. He looked forward to getting prosthetics and starting his new life. He retook the LSAT and started at UF Law in 1994.

That year he met UF Law Professor Sharon Rush.

“He made such an impression on me,” Rush said. “He had insight beyond his years.”

Rush said that what stood out to her the most about Johnson was his ability to put others first.

“He told me that when he got in the accident his first concern was that his mother would have to fly to see him and she was afraid to fly,” Rush said.

This quality, Rush believes, has contributed to Johnson’s success.

“Who wouldn’t want an attorney who was that focused on you and your case?” she said. “He can see the good in whatever the situation is and I imagine his clients really like that.”

Johnson returns the compliment about his education. “The training I received at UF Law was bar-none stellar,” Johnson said. “It’s helped me analytically in sports and law.”

Johnson works as a general practitioner of personal injury law as well as civil rights with an emphasis on disability, and personal injury law. He said running his own firm allows him to manage his own time to compete in sailing.

Johnson does not look at the accident that set his life on this path as a tragedy. Instead, he attributes much of his success to it.

Rush sees a lesson in Johnson’s experience.

“I think all of us can learn from Brad to be grateful for the present moment and to be grateful for the opportunities ahead, even though there is uncertainty,” Rush said.